Concern level in Riley Leonard's passing accuracy? Notre Dame on upset alert vs. NIU? | Hey Horka!

[Music] Jack we might as well jump right into this and we should apologize to all of the Notre Dame fans who are watching which thank you for watching this show this week and every week we got it wrong man we got week one wrong I know we didn't make official picks on this hey haa YouTube video and if you're watching back on Apple podcast and Spotify thank you but yeah like like I said Jack we didn't make picks here but we made picks at Blue and gold.com we made picks in our blue and gold Illustrated magazine we both picked Texas A&M to win and to our credit for about 58 minutes it was a possibility but I wouldn't even say 58 Jack because let's just talk about that game for a minute before we get into the questions that we're doing for today's hey hor show as soon as Notre Dame got the ball with about what was it six or seven minutes left you could kind of tell that they were going on a March they were going on one of those game-winning types of drives and they got the the passing play to Jaden greous on Third and five and then the Bo Collins one signal to me as soon as he didn't get penalized for the old shove yeah they're probably going to go win win this game and that's exactly what they did is that the kind of way that you felt when you were sitting there yeah I feel like once they kind of maybe not at the start of that drive I think uh once they kind of got the ball in the Red Zone the clock was taken out the two-minute warning they're like you're like all right another Dames probably got this and at that point we were just trying to Sprint down I from the Press Box to the field so we could see the rest of the game I I don't know if I want to apologize for& M I'll admit I was wrong or for picking I'll admit I was wrong but you know I'm not apologizing for picking who I I thought was going to win the game I did say in my prediction that it was a tossup and it was going to be a low-scoring rock fight I and I think we both agreed I I also think that we I we laid out a clear formula for how Notre Dame could win this game which was I you know recognize the kind of game Flow is going to be don't turn the ball over win the turnover battle win the field position battle I hang around make a big play or two in the second half and I mean that's what they did I so I think it's a terrific win for Notre Dame I and you know we I I picked we picked 11 and one on the on the season and I you know people were generally okay with that but then when we all of a sudden you pick Notre Dame to lose a game and people lose their minds like where where do you yeah I'm not sure where yall think losses come from but it's not like out of thin air so I but I mean now now it's it's look at like 12 and0 is a legitimate possibility yeah I was about to say losses look harder to come by now than they did even at this time last week when we were doing this show because Florida state is now 0 and2 uh Georgia Tech didn't look overly convincing I think they played Georgia State I think they won like 35 to 12 or 13 or something like that so I mean a 23 22o win is is good but I I would say what Notre Dame did at Texas A&M is better and what Notre Dame has done um exactly like you Jack this could be a 12-0 season I I had book ending losses for this year I picked 10- two and guys kind of to Jack's Point that's a step up from the last last year and then obviously eight and four a couple seasons ago so I was just kind of going with the incremental progression um and look 10 to two is still a possibility too even though like I I don't see two losses on the in the next 11 games but you didn't see Notre Dame losing to Louisville and Clemson last year either so this year could be different in and we're going to talk a lot about that because what Notre Dame did at Texas A&M Jack I think that was different than anything that we saw last year and really in the Marcus Freeman era I mean that's would you agree with me not just his best road win but the best win of his tenure would you put that over Clemson 2022 USC 2023 yeah I think pending how the rest of the season works out both for Notre Dame and and A&M I think we all we all look at that at that Clemson USC win worse in hindsight because those teams turned out to be not as good as we thought they were but at right now certainly it looks like it looks like the best win of his tenure so far it it it really shows the progress that's being made particularly on the offensive side of the ball because last year when the offense struggled a they would turn the ball over uh and B they would go through long stretches where like they can't do anything I want to point out that like even though the offense didn't score you know 30 points like they scored points in every quarter and I think that matters because they didn't have long stretches where where they were doing nothing they just knew what what the game play was going to be and played accordingly they they didn't turn it over I they like against Louisville and Clemson that was The Killers is is they turned it over and I I just saw a lot of progress with the way they handled playing against a really good defense which was they didn't get carried away they didn't I they didn't take chances that they shouldn't have they didn't make make silly decisions with the with the exception of one R Leonard throw that easily could have been a pick six but you know it's not a pick six they if he doesn't catch it I but no I mean particularly from an offensive standpoint just the resilience that they showed I I I think does make it make it Freeman's best win what I keep saying over and over over again last week Jack it was just find a way to answer and the answering in this game ended up only being field goals I mean 66 at halftime felt ugly felt kind of meh but I think it was a win based on game Flow like you were saying that was a game Flow win because it looked like Texas A&M was going to drive right down and score a touchdown seven to zero is a lot different than three to zero all of a sudden you only have to match a field goal and you only had to match another field goal and honestly Notre name probably should have been winning at half if you take into account a Don Schuler's interception was that in the first half Jack yeah the two of two interceptions and three and the Watts pick yeah three points off of two interceptions in the first half the better team ended up asserting itself in the second half by scoring 17 points and winning the game so yeah I mean it's it it has set up a pretty fun stretch Jack I was just doing our new stand for Thursday morning and I think people have seen this all over social media already Notre Dame has the best chance of winning out per ESPN's fpi and it's not close was that the case I believe that was the case before the season started yeah but now it's not close now it's Notre yeah yeah over 20% and the next closest team is Penn State at 11 like it is very interesting to me that Penn State is the next is the next closest team yeah it must be a schedule thing because then it's schedu thing for Notre Dame certainly that that is very true as well so we are gonna dive into the questions obviously you guys see the headline we're GNA talk about Riley Leonard Northern Illinois but first we need to talk about our sponsor which is Augie's locker room and it's a it's a home game weekend Jack and so is uh Miami Ohio and Louisville so to the next three weekends you guys will be in Southbend and if you're in Southbend you definitely need to swing by auggie's locker room um we know you love Notre Dame memorabilia and unique one-of aind Notre Dame items that you can only find at one place and that is Augie's locker room aie locker room has moved to a brand new location come see the brand new store located at 1733 North Ironwood Drive in South Bend really convenient location zck Jack can attest to that it's like I don't know three to five minutes off of Campus if you don't hit any lights on uh what is that what is that streak right there um uh South Bend a is that South Bend AB yeah South Bend AB in uh in irand so it's right there and when you do come for a game go check out augi lock room for sure they have a wide selection of Notre name Stadium pieces jerseys helmets autographs and one of a kind rockney items you can find exclusive Joe Montana sign items and famous sculptor Jerry McKenna's replicas of The Bronze Statues around the stadium Augie gets new items all the time if he doesn't have it in his store he'll find it for you so visit Auggie at 1733 North iron one drive in South Bend and see the Vintage helmet display ba dating back to 1890 he's got some amazing items you want to see them visit auggies Locker room.com or call him at 574-277-0033 some talk kind of about the A&M game obviously because that's the only frame of reference that we have to go off of right now with this football team but we're going to talk Northern Illinois and kind of big picture stuff as well so this kind of encapsulates all of those things Jack because we saw some inaccuracy from Riley Leonard's passing ability against Texas A&M we have definitely seen that dating back to his Duke days when we watched all 21 of his starts there so this is the question from Z thy1 which is someone that I don't think we we've had on this show so always love to see a new contributor from the loose Emoji message board has your concern level on Riley Leonard's passing ability changed from Fall Camp to now I'm just going to go ahead and quickly say no I'll elaborate later but I'm GNA give you the floor first Jack go ahead I will also say no I do want to make a point that like we got a question either last week or a couple weeks ago I mean we've been talking about this A&M game for so long but it was basically like what do what do rally stats need to be for Notre Dame to win this game and my response would basically be be like I I could give l i can I cuss on the show uh depends on what you're saying but we're about to find out all right I can give less of a hoot uh what Riley Leonard's stats are and and now now that it's over I I can give less of a hoot what what Ry Riley stats are right now like I I truly truly do not care like he I all that matters is he engineered the final drive didn't turn the ball over won the game like that that is it that is all he need to do against A&M regarding the accuracy and the passing ability I like he he looked pretty much like he did at Duke and that that's how he looked in F Camp I in that was he completely accurate No did he have a few throws that he like to have back sure I did he put the ball in harms away very much no he he did he did a good good job of that again with one exception he did he run well yes uh did he play well at the end make some really make make a couple really big time throws not a lot of people not enough people are talk about that third and five to Jaden great house I know was a bit of a layup but like that was a big time throw in a big time situation I so no it it hasn't changed I do I think he is the kind of passer who can win a shootout that's still to be determined but he luckily with this defense he won't need to yeah it's a good point about the defense um and it's a really good point about him being who he was a Duke and and that being who he still is now at Notre Dame and again that's not necessarily a bad thing yeah no that's why Notre Dame went out and got him they liked who he was at Duke a lot of people liked who he was at Duke um and now he's surrounded by an offensive line that played a lot better than anyone thought going in and is only going to get better the wide receivers I think are still going to get better Bo Collins impressed me gotta give a shout out to Mike singer for being on that one because I wasn't seeing that coming from him uh Jaden greous makes big catches when he needs to we've seen that before I think you're still going to see some more out of some of the other guys in that unit we'll get to some of that later in the show but when when you're talking about Riley Leonard himself 60% I will take that from him every single time he was 18 of 30 in this game some people probably look at the 158 yards and Jack you you just denounced that it doesn't matter man I I think the throw to Bo Collins was the longest have you looked at air yards or anything I think Sports info Solutions does that PFF has that as well I have not but but I mean we we do know that like Freeman and den Brock but Freeman in particular said like yeah we knew we couldn't take downfield shots in this game just because of you know the game plan what A&M could do to us what A&M like would would do defensively the translation is there they they knew they couldn't block long enough to take deep shots I and I think the side effect to that is like A&M Mike ELO is a really smart coach and when A&M knows that Notre Dame isn't gonna want to take deep shots I because of the offensive line they then they're going to have their defensive backs really key in on the quick game so when you saw you you know not a lot of receivers open underneath I don't think that's a refle reflection on the receivers at all I think that's a reflection of the domino effect that the disadvantage of front of front had and and the game plan that that you had to put in if you're Notre Dame to make up for that so I get the the point is like air yards yards per attempt like I I don't care about that right now yeah and it's gonna get better because not every game plan is going to be as I don't want to say dumbed down but I used dialed back earlier in the because that's what it was it was dialed back it was hey we think we can win this game by just doing this and Riley Leonard did this what the game plan was exceptionally well like I said 60% you'll take that from him every single time I think in 2022 is a 64% passer so you would like to see some games where he's in that 65 to 70 range but if he's above if he's not in the 50 range I I think you're living with that and he got better I wrote this at Blue and gold.com today there was a stretch in the game where he missed four of five of his throws in complete passes and then I think he completed two or three in a row and then he missed three of four so it was a bad 10 to 12 throw stretch for Riley Leonard second half second third quarter yeah it was it was pretty much all over the second quarter maybe even late first into the second and then in the second half he goes seven of 11 for 80 something yards so there's more than half of his yards he's he's well over 50% there what he's 75 80% there seven of 11 so got better and then his last two throws of the game you mentioned the one to great house I talked about the one to Bo Collins those are his two biggest throws of the game probably and they're his last two throws of the game dude's a winner is he gonna miss some simple throws that you're like dang it yes he's not Patrick Mahomes he's his accuracy isn't his calling card uh he's a gamer though and I say this if you can get away and I wouldn't even call it getting away with Riley Leonard being your number two back he he basically was your number two back in this game and that's ahead of jarian price who broke an electrifying 47 yard touchdown Notre Dame doesn't win without that run and Riley Leonard was still your number two back essentially with 12 carries for 63 yards or whatever it was so when you add everything in my concern level with Riley Leonard's accuracy or passing ability whatever you call it is so low considering everything he do and I do think he's going have some games where he does throw for 250 yard and maybe if you do hit a couple big ones against some of these opponents Jack that we mentioned why Notre Dame has a 20% chance to go undefeated the rest of the season Riley Leonard might end up with a 300 yard passing game or two like it's not like he's a bad thrower of the football he just does so many other things so so well and when you add it all together he's a pretty good quarterback yeah and I again like he's going to get better as the season moves along we said the offense is going to get better as the season moves along right the off is G the offense as a whole is going to get better a big part of that is Rally's gonna get better in that like we remember the the story that that mikee demro told about Jaden Daniels and he doesn't didn't completely trust his receivers defaulted to his legs a little more than he should have like that's Riley right now Riley in November he's gonna be a better passer and he's gonna be be more able to beat you through the air and you feel so much comfortable about so much more comfortable that fact about that fact now because you escape college station with the win and that's that's the biggest thing with with Riley finding a way to win doing a terrific job on on on that on that touchdown drive with the two big throws the two big runs and you know he's he's gonna be he's gonna be better as a passer he he wasn't he certainly wasn't perfect uh but he's going to be better all right we'll end this conversation with a couple comments from the chat here Greg werman definitely not a Heisman guy I never saw that for Riley Leonard anyway I think he was just in the top 10 to 15 of the betting odds over the offseason because he's Notre Dame's quarterback and Notre Dame has a real good shot to be the number five team of the country come cfp seating time so I jack I think you would agree with that you never saw him as a Heisman guy did you no I I I I never did I you know he appeared on some some of the odds lists but you know I I didn't think he was GNA be a guy who's gonna who's gonna be up there I again like I go back to something just something Marcus said Marcus Freeman said in May it's like I don't know what the NFL Draft projections say but when the game is on the line I want the ball in Riley Leonard's hands and that that I think that is who who Riley was for Notre Dame I mean that's that's why like Notre Dame gave him the offensive player of the week award like in in you know it's it's inter internal team Awards like he he had the ball at the game on the line he he delivered that was everything you wanted you wanted him to do in week one the stats and accolades they can come as they make he the the kid won the football game yeah and Mike elko's quarterback did not and that's the last comment that I'll bring up Elco would like to have Leonard of course he would but he did not and and he had Conor wigman and that was a pretty big determining factor in this football game Riley Leonard was better than Conor wigman so kind of keeping with the theme of the passing attack Jack and now we're going to work in NIU this is from aoan 624 can Notre Dame blow out NIU is it's a four touchdown spread right now jack isn't it 28 points I haven't looked to be honest but I probably should but I probably so can it blowout NIU I I would say a blowout is anything more than that talking 30 points and work on its deep passing attack at the same time I'll take this one first and it's a pretty short answer for me yeah I think that's what you're trying to do because uh I I will give one caveat though Illinois you wrote about this Jack and and I have written about this as well number six total passing defense in the country last year in terms of yards allowed per game I think you said it was number 11 or 12 somewhere around there in pass yards per pass attempt last season so that you're talking about a top 10 when you average those two things out passing defense most of those guys are back they they have really good cornerbacks really good starter on one side and then two guys they kind of rotate in on the other sound familiar Notre Dame kind of has that itself um Rasheen Thomas I think is a guy that really gets after the passer and it look sounds like he's not GNA play in this game Jack so I think if that's the case you don't have Thomas who led all FBS defensive linemen in total tackles last season LED all all FBS defensive linemen was the only FBS defensive lineman to lead his team uh which is very impressive and I think like most tackles by D Lin in NIU history he said a lot of tackles records for defensive lineman he's he's a huge player for them figuratively and literally probably their best player on defense and he's not playing and that's huge Upfront for Notre Dame I feel so much better about this offensive line now Jack which is why I can confidently answer this question with the with the resounding yes I think Notre Dames can kind of open it up in this one you're at home you know that your defense is Elite again you know that your offensive line is playing with a lot more confidence than it would have if things had gone aai at Texas A&M and the line wasn't perfect but they didn't give up sack and they did enough for Notre Dame to to do what it did in winning that game so I like the confidence of the line I like knowing that you have a good defense on the other side Riley Leonard Marcus Freeman said in his press conference on Monday just to get back to him with the passing thing for a second he has all the confidence in the world Marcus Freeman does in letting Riley Leonard take those shots Jack when we watch those Duke games in the off season we saw enough deep balls to know that he can throw it and I I don't know if it's the heave it as far as you can you know 50 yard that's Riley's strength but if you get into an area where you know I don't know maybe you're at the 30 and you're saying okay this is a an end zone shot he only needs to throw it 30 to 40 yards in the air I saw him be very accurate with that throw and you can do that from your own 30 as well and and get it to you know the the other 20 and set yourself up in the red zone it doesn't have to be the 50 60 70 yard touchdown shot that we're talking about when we talk about the Deep passing game so I I do think you see Riley Leonard attempt some passes well beyond 20 yards downfield which is nothing like what he did against Texas A&M and look Jeremiah Love and jardian price and Riley Leonard himself are gonna run the football well enough to allow you to take some of those shots so all things considered yeah I think this sets up for Notre Dame to to do some things with its offense and kind of figure out a little bit more about itself yeah no I I agree with that I I want to add a couple things one one this is a very like pushes glasses against forehead correction but they did they did change a Nick scorton tackle for loss on Riley Leonard to a sack I so so no so and that that so that that was the uh that was the spin move that he hit on nap in the second quarter yeah I saw that yeah n nap actually talked about this yesterday yesterday I he he was like so the the moment I was overthinking it was like when he he he knew scorton loved the spin move so he's like keep the shoulder down keep the shoulder down then he started to get confident and so he tried to be an athlete kept the shoulder up and then scorton just hit him with a vicious spin move so so so they change that to a sack I but again very much a technicality like the other thing I'll add and again I I agree with all that is that I still think Riley is the kind of quarterback who needs to get into a rhythm before he can really hit some of those some of those deep balls so like I would neily come out firing I the first play of the game I would like you know try to hit like a quick screen or a quick slant get to like second and two then then really take the Deep shot is is is the plan is the plan I would have there I I also I was kind of thinking about this in and you know kind of thinking about Freeman's comment about I not taking not taking deep shots it's like was that part of why we saw a lot more Jordan phasin uh than uh then Chris Mitchell when when fison was was healthy I mean we obviously there's no way to know next week because fa Faison's not going to play but would we have seen may maybe F on Sil would have start but would we have seen more of an even mix between the two in the first quarter it's something I was thinking about and I there's gonna be a question later about like an offensive guy I who who we think is gonna who think is gonna play well this week that we don't think play that that didn't really do much last week and I mean Chris is good candidate for that yeah way to give away uh never mind sorry about that I'm kid I'm kidding uh is a good teaser no I when you said his name when you said his name in that context that's the first thing that I yeah thought of was that's probably a big reason why we did see more Jordan FIS on last week than Chris Mitchell I also just think Jordan Faison's a really good football player oh for sure for sure yeah don't sh it's a shame that he's out for a week or two but if you're going to miss him these are probably not you know this is the to do it um you know before you get into October and November and with this team it's looking like December for sure so um yeah I mean and you mentioned the quick passes if I remember correctly the first pass of the game for Riley Leonard against Texas A&M was a quick screen to Jeremiah love I don't think it went anywhere but that's what it was I want to say it gain like two or three and then he gained five or six to Cooper Flanigan on first pass coming out in the second half so that that is a thing with Riley Leonard and we saw that at Duke as well let him see one it's like a it's like a basketball player seeing a free throw go through or or that first shot go through let him get one out there complete the pass and that's kind of with any quarterback but but when you're talking about Riley Leonard who has all of these things going on and he's not the most accurate guy to begin with like we said that that is a perfect thing to do so yeah I mean it's it's going to be a lot of run to set up the pass the Deep ball and it's going to be a lot of short pass to set up the the Deep ball as well so I think we're we're on the same page with all of that I do want to before we move on real quick pull up a td4 nd's comment from a minute ago I the den Brock's play calling multidimensional completely agreed like the this the slant is is just the example I was using like the a nice thing about Den Brock is that he really found multiple ways to do this like it it was it wasn't just power with with uh with jarian price under Center I don't think I don't think they went under Center once in this game which which is a welcome change for Notre Dame I I was a little scared on the fourth in uh the one that Notre Dame converted were they both fourth and one maybe this one was fourth and two they were both fourth they were fourth and one fourth and two I mean that so QB power is the new QB sneak it's true but I yeah we did see a couple snaps on the ground though there there was just something internally in my brain that said this could go a ride but it didn't if you if if you pull it off yeah Riley Leonard is gonna plow forward for five yards like he's tough to tackle man yeah all right moving on to question number three this is kind of subjective big picture um definitely has to do with this week considering something that happened a couple of years ago you let off your NIU preview with that anecdote Jack which is a really good story go to Blue and gold.com to read Jack's preview of this game does the emotion of the Texas m game help or hurt Notre Dame moving forward this is from dcwf lyca a common poster on our message board appreciate you I'll I'll give a little short answer Jack then let you go again and then we'll Circle back to me I think this year it helps unlike 2022 when Notre Dame came back from Ohio State and lost to Marshall and then I also go to 2023 because I know people are sick of us bringing up Marshall even though like I said it was a great and it's probably the most recent pertinent relevant example that we have to Notre Dame returning to Notre Dame stadium and having to play a game like this but I go back to last year not in how quickly people forget Notre Dame had perhaps an even more remarkable drive to beat Duke in in that game in Durham last year and the emotions were High I mean it was remember talking to Howard cross with his sinus infection after the game Jack and he was on cloud n just like he was out on cloud n in College Station you you mentioned that he looked like one of the happiest human beings that you would ever seen and I I would concur with that in College Station but it feels different to me Jack because that felt a little more like a prayer being answered an exhale a sigh of relief like oh I can't believe we got this done we're a one lost football team still instead of a two lost football team this is great our season is still alive happy gol lucky this year it feels more like okay yeah let let's set a tone let's ride this wave of momentum into not just NIU but every game thereafter this is who we are we're an unbeaten football team we can go beat the number 20 team in the country in their house or you know maybe USC at what are they ranked right now like top 15 that's a hard that's a tough schedule I don't know if they're going to be there at the end of the season but they're not thinking about USC yet but I'm just thinking hypothetically you can go beat the number 13 team in the country in their own building or you know fill in the blank with the number in a team type of situation that's what it feels like Notre Dame is at right now and not just w we can't believe Sam Hartman ran for 18 yards on Fourth and 16 and audri EST scored on a play that it sounded like Notre Dame was just trying to set up for a long field goal like they were it's it's none of that Jack this year it's holy cow we took two Texas A&M in the winning moments we won by 10 we were the better football team we showed it in front of 107,000 I think this is different and I think the emotion helps yeah I I think it's important to note that while that win was a game that was up for grabs for a long time and was very they they easily could have lost it in if the last seven minutes went differently but it it was not a fluke I think there's a difference between a close game and a fluke Notre Dame won that game convincingly at the end I they were the better team they they were the better conditioned team I I think that I mean that's Lauren Lando we get questions on the board all the time like he deserves a lot a lot of credit the the nutrition staff Lex appan the training staff Rob hunt uh sports science uh John waggle all all of that deserves a lot of credit for for that win regarding the emotion I think it helps if you harness it correctly I think that you should if you're Notre Dame approach this NIU game with the same in enthusiasm and energy like I I wouldn't mind seeing another one of those like hype up spiels from from Marcus Freeman at at the start of the game like you're playing in front of your own fans your home opener this is a home Notre Dame crowd that like when's the last time a Notre Dame crowd has gone into a into a home opener this happy I mean La last year was was they they were pretty happy that that was Navy like I don't I can't remember the last time like use that energy like play with that energy I I think that NIU is the type of team that can make this a closer game than most think if Notre Dame underestimates them and I think Notre Dame knows better like Freeman was on record on the pivot podcast that summer of 23 saying like my mindset after the the Ohio State game Freeman said was like all right we were better than we were better than a lot of people thought we're gonna beat Marshall we know we're going to beat Marshall it's going to be my first win and he's he said that like obviously they like they they could they could have said whatever they wanted that week like they obviously underestimate underestimate Marshall and they looked past him they know better this time than to do that and I think this is an NIU team that like could keep this close to the second half Notre Dame comes out sleeping I because like we should clarify that this is a this is a pretty good Mac team this is a pretty good group of five team uh team that could contend for could could contend for its Conference Championship this year 100% but if Notre Dame takes this game seriously and approaches it with the same energy and enthusiasm like using that emotion I harnessing it for good I I think Notre Dame's gonna win this game pretty handily fans have like as much as we talk about the 107,000 at Texas A&M a fan is still a fan and and there's only so much they can do to impact the game but I do like this from td4 ND show that clip of Marcus Freeman going crazy on the Jumbotron and Jack we might hear Notre Dame Stadium get as loud as it ever has while we've been on the beat this is my fourth season your second season combine all of those games I think that would be the loudest that we've ever heard that Jumbotron and you make a good point why not just do it again Marcus Freeman himself is the one who says time and again you only get 12 guaranteed opportunities I guarantee you 38-year-old Marcus Freeman who's got more energy to do this than a lot of head coaches he can do that 12 times a year can candy Jack like maybe maybe that's a new thing I'm not I'm not sure if it would be Overkill but dude people love it do they not love it they love no they they love it it clearly had the intended the intended effect and I don't I don't know like I mean why I'm not a head head college football coach like I don't know if that's the right approach to take every week right but I think for at least one more like I I think it it might be it might be the move just to make just to make sure that these guys are like all right we're not going to be any less fired up this one than than we were against A&M and that to send that clear message like in in these kinds of games even if it's a good group of five team like if you're the if you're Notre Dame and you're the home favorite you start fast you go up to a 14 nothing lead the game is over you obviously can't treat it like that but but that's the case a start a fast start I is the way is the way you erase any doubt early in this game and I think that that should be the goal all right so you talked about a good NIU team you talked about erasing doubt there's that word I think every common Notre Dame fan has at least a little bit of it because of the program that they root for and love and have been immersed in all of their lives they've seen some wacky stuff happen and we mentioned example two years ago so Jack let's end this part of the the show with the upset odds I have them very low very I don't I don't think it's happening even with as good NIU is I mean would you say that Marshall actually had a good year in 2022 so maybe another good like Marshall was was seven and Six coming off the 21 season NIU 7 and Six coming off the 23 season yeah NIU has all of these starters back I think it's 18 is it nine on both sides of the ball I mean sounds right I I know that like the teams calculate returning starters different like we we we had the magazine had a higher standard for a returning starter like I think I think we had 14 the teams have 18 I it's a lot yeah no matter what the number is the quarterback had a really good week in week one so he's playing with confidence I think his name is Ethan Hampton two incompletions five touchdown passes um some receivers who are good-look targets so like kind of the Marshall formula is there for NIU but I think this is a totally different Notre Dame team from Marcus Freeman being in year three Al golden being in year three Mike Den Brock being here now guys it's also Riley Leonard in his 20 whatever start 23d start of his career versus Tyler Buckner back against Marshall in in the second start of his career and we were all so optimistic and high on on Buckner thought he could be you know a multi-e starter at Notre Dame ended up not happening hindsight's 2020 but Riley Leonard is a multi-year starter this is his third year starting in college football and I know last year was injury ridden but it rled he's a threee starter at at this level uh I forget who was starting over him at Duke was it that wide receiver Jack in in his freshman year who was starting over him no he no he wasn't starting they they were in a competition together with sophomore I I couldn't honestly couldn't tell you who was a starter in in uh 21 Leonard probably could have started that year as a freshman he's that kind of talent he he's a he's a college starting quarterback Tyler Buckner was not that's why Notre name lost the Marshall that pick six was was brutal and and crucial not happening with Riley Leonard I don't even think Notre Dame is going to be in that position in the fourth quarter for it to happen I know somebody earlier in the chat said can't wait to see the backup quarterbacks this is td4 ND you're having quiet a night appreciate you uh Jack I I just don't think as good as NIU is and they believe it I transcribe Thomas hammock the head coach go to Blue and gold.com can read every word that he said about Notre Dame about this game he's confident um bordering cocky with some of his quotes but but I would say more so confident uh in his team and in himself as a coach but it's just not happening this week um I think Notre Dame wins pretty big and there's nothing to worry about I don't think you have too much to add to that but you agree yeah I agree the game Flow I think this game could follow more than Marshall I I actually look back to Central Michigan from last year that's a good comp that's a good comp because so& M&M NIU strength on offense is the Run game they have a few returning starters I think who made like third Team all Mac preseason something like that they're good players they got a running back named antario Brown who I honestly considered for the all opponent team as the running back I went with Jamal Haynes which looks like a good pick so far for Jord Tech but but Brown is like he his size is like estimate but a little bit smaller I like a little bit shorter I he's got like that those saquan Barkley quads that that'll run through you if you're not careful he's an explosive dude a really good player and like if Notre Dame kind of sleep BLS on defense like they're going to get punched in the mouth with with the with the Run game and I I I see this game going like maybe it's 7 seven at the end of the first quarter maybe it's like I think and Central Michigan was 20 214 Notre Dame at halftime and then Notre Dame won like 41 I I think I have 4114 in this game I I think that's pretty realistic I that was almost the exact same score as the central Michigan game was that 4117 417 I so I mean that that that was the model like I I I see this game as pretty pretty similar to Central Michigan in a lot of ways and I think it'll turn out about about the same as long as the model and sticking with the theme of of mac and maction as long as the model isn't 2021 Toledo Jack I think Notre Dame fans will be just fine with that yeah yep all right moving on to question number four this one probably shouldn't take too long but I I think it definitely kind of brings out some interesting answers you alluded to it earlier Jack so I will start with that part myself name a player on offense and defense who did not significantly impact the A&M game but will have a good week in week two kind of putting a call out there if you will on both sides of the ball that's from CM CK 406 appreciate you jack I'm gonna go with Chris Mitchell on offense and you alluded to that earlier and I think it's I mean I put it on the uh in the thread the hey horah thread earlier no Jordan phas on this week and this is the type of team that Chris Mitchell just kind of feasted on at Florida International I mean he had 1100 yards last season and and that's because he played this tier this level of opponent over and over and over again and he's probably gonna be able to as much as I talked up those Corners earlier in this conversation he's probably going to be able to run by one or two of them at Le at least one or two times in this game so I I think that he catches at least one long ball is he going to score a touchdown I'm not sure but I wouldn't be shocked if he gets somebody on like a double move that he had in the blue GO game for instance he can do that in this game score a touchdown all of a sudden he's at two catches 80 yards in a score and you're saying okay there's the Chris Mitchell that we wanted to see we didn't see a Texas A&M so that's my pick for the offense do you want to do your offense and then we'll go defense def defense yeah I'll go my offense as well I'm going to say Jaden Harrison we didn't see too much from him I particularly as like a receiver we we saw him use on like a Jet Sweep maybe once I maybe he got the ball second time I I don't remember but I I want to see him I kind of work over the middle a little bit more I I liked what he was doing in Fall camp and back in Spring out of the slot like catching some of those those quick slant those in routes over the middle maybe a tunnel screen with him could could be ideal so I I like him to to do a little a good amount I one more quick shout out I we did not see any anas Williams against Texas A&M I I think we see a good amount of anas Williams against Northern Illinois is that because it's going to be a blowout or do you think he's worked in even in the first half not necessarily no I I think so Dyan Mulla had a striking quote I think we made it into or I made it into a graphic uh in Camp it was like we like the way anas can path protect but he he said like the trusting a freshman against A&M and pass Pro would be malpractice which is why we saw exclusively Devin Ford on third Downs I think given that's it's not A&M anymore I think we see a little bit of anas Williams in that first half because he's listed on the dep yard over Devon Ford but de but we only saw Devon Ford and I think I think that's just& M thing I think we see some anas in the first half I don't know if that's just an A&M thing because here's a a funky stat from the A&M game Jack do you know who was second in targets behind Bo Williams for Notre Dame Bo you mean Bo Collins Bo Collins I'm sorry you had any you were talking about anas Williams Bo Collins had seven Targets number two in targets JG nope I think he had three and he caught all three Flanigan nope uh one of these targets made us Shake our head in the Press Box and say why are you doing this on this specific down in distance that's the one I only vividly remember was it Devon Ford Devon Ford had four targets interesting so is that a norm I don't know but I I I think that was a sign of they like him if they trusted throwing him the ball in that game they like him they like Ford but I think that was more we trust Ford more than I we trust Ford more than Nas in this kind of game I think anas has a similar type of skill set that that they go to I against A&M I think both are good I think both are good picks if like I'm not a big better but if you could find prop bet odds on touchdown score I would sprinkle a little something on Williams I like him in this game I like your pick there I I I just see this being a Devon Ford touchdown game you know where everyone celebrates with him in the South End Zone and you know they're like hey man we love this guy he's our special teamer he does everything like this this feels like Devin Ford touchdown type game but yeah I'm going with Chris Mitchell um I I like your picks as well for sure what what about one more thing while we're on the offense because faasan is out and I think Mitchell's going to shine because of that KK Smith m Bert especially if the game gets out of hand KK Smith Mikey Gilbert two guys that well we know we're going to see KK Smith because he's on the depth chart and they they they like to roll six receivers I we Freeman said we could see mikah Gilbert I there was there was a Dion Coy comment earlier like we could see him but Freeman told us like aside of the aside from the six on the dep chart like KK was number seven uh Gilbert was number eight that means Coy is the only other one who traveled he's number nine number eight now that that Faison's hurt but I I like KK KK is a guy who if he plays well enough he could prevent them from taking another Chris Mitchell type deep thread in the transfer portal because he could fill that role next year I think I can't get over Mike Den Brock over and over and over again in Fall Camp just kind of mentioning KK Smith's name out of the blue and practices that where we were at he it was KK this KK that he's he's kind of grooming this guy to to be something special in the next couple of years Jack completely agree defensively somebody who didn't do much against A&M I think is going to do something against Northern Illinois I've got RJ Obin and I think he's too good to to not get a sack or I mean he's not gonna get a sack in every single football game but I picked him to get one against Texas A&M and I think you did too I think the over under was point. five and we both said over so I mean he wasn't listening to that but he's listen listening to himself and he's listening to I don't know about any of the outside noise but he knows that maybe he should have done a little bit more in that football game he's a good player disruptive guy that's why Notre Dame got him uh you mentioned a good point last week though uh I don't know if it was on this show or maybe we were just conversing amongst ourselves it took javante John Baptist or maybe this was somebody else I I don't know where I heard this it kind of Javon Jean Baptist kind of eased into what he was last year for Notre Dame so maybe it didn't happen right away maybe it won't happen right away for RJ Obin but again kind of like um those other players that I mentioned on offense just feels like a spot Jack where he's gonna go around a a ma tackle and and do something or get a tackle for loss get a sack something like that I'm looking at R.J Obin in this game yeah I like it I will make a bold prediction one jadden Mickey interception okay I think there're certainly many reasons that Christian Gray won that job but the thing Jaden Mickey does do very well is jumping routes when quarterbacks make mistakes uh he's got the fluid hips he's got the athleticism for it he's got the ball skills I not necessarily like go up and get it ball skills like Christian gry men Morrison have I but the the ability to jump those routes and make those interceptions and I think he gets one I I mean he he played 23 snaps against I think it was 23 or something something around there against A&M he's going to play plenty against North Illinois what was gray at you did all the snap counts gray was at gray was at like high 40s like 4849 okay so so he's he's the clear starter but like they they mix Mickey in plenty yeah so that's I mean that's over like a a two3 like a 60 yeah that's like a 7030 split or or maybe even three4 to a quarter type of type of situation going on there which I don't think we're shocked by at all couple other interesting defensive snap counts while we're on the subject like uart tror 35 or 36 a lot of snaps Rod herd 35 or 36 they ran that big nickel on the dime package a lot versatile man he could he could play and that's what we knew but like he showed it in that game I mean it really confirmed it really confirms that like Adon Schuler won that job like they still like Rod her Plenty Adon Schuler grabbed that job and took it yeah dude the depth man at all of these positions is insane yeah how golden coaching up that much depth we're only one game into this like somebody asked and we'll get to our last question in a minute because I know Jack has a fantasy football draft in 10 minutes and I don't know how seriously you I don't know how seriously you guys take fantasy football but I lost all of my hair one year because of it so I don't think Jack has that on the line but I'm gonna let him get to this draft in less than 10 minutes um where was I going with that though I was about to say something I think you were like segueing into the next question yeah maybe I was and this this guy's definitely worth talking about as we conversed earlier but I was going to say something else maybe it comes to mind but yeah let's let's do segue into that final question uh yeah here's a guy that's what I was just about to say Al golden coaching up all of these guys on the defense here's another one of those guys Jaylen Sneed Jack what did you make of his week one and what's he gonna do the rest of the season this was kind of framed on the message board in the sense of are we gonna see him rush the passer a lot and to me my answer was yes of course that's a no-brainer that's kind of what he did last year but I think the bigger Point here Jack yeah is so much more than that right he can play will obviously the Rover line him up on the edge and just say go get the quarterback go get Whoever has the football he's playing fast cerebral yeah my answer is we're gonna see him do a lot for this football what I I think he was uh he played the second most snaps of any linebacker right one head of Bowen so I I I think it was like Kaiser at like 57 Bowen or sne at 31 Bowen at 30 uh Kingston in the low 20s Osberry in the high teens and one one of the things that that like I was that I learned doing the defensive rewatch is like I was really impressed I was thrilled with what I saw from Jaylen Sneed I it's not that often like coaches preach something all offseason like Jaylen sneed's gotten gotten smarter Jaylen Sneed knows what he's doing more Jaylen sne is playing faster Jaylen Sneed is is getting his assignments right like we saw all of that in this game and the coaches proved Al golden proves like how much he trust Jaylen Sneed with how much he played him and at how many different spots like he played Viper he played Rover he played will uh he's a really nice outside backer in that goal line package where he made that tackle for a loss the play that really stood out about Jaylen sne U Terry busy who's like the true freshman who plays all three phases for for Texas A&M I had like a Jet Sweep and sne recognized it right away didn't even think about it just zoom into the back field I that was a play where like he tore off part of busy's shirt he was hanging on for de that's the shirt play the shirt play and like and King I think it was Kingston who ended up finishing that play for a tackle for like loss or maybe a gain of one or two I and the thing that stood out about to me about that was like sure you would like it if s like hit him in hit him in in the in the rib cage and made the tackle for a loss but you'd much rather him play that fast Miss but but play with effort and and finish the play then you would him hesitating and letting busy get the edge there and so that the latter thing is what we would have seen from Jaylen Ste in the past and what he did is the new Jaylen Steen and he he's really like we talk all offseason about jayen Ste being a versatile weapon for this defense like that's what he was in that game I was super impressed super impressed with both him and with Al golden for really finding a way even even if ste's a guy who doesn't necessarily fit the fit the base defense Al golden found a way to use them in a way that really helps this team and it's it it's what really separates the good DCS from the bad DCS in my opinion using a GU yeah that was my biggest worry was yeah okay Maris lefal is gone I get it but that just means jack Kaiser is going to come up and play every down it will and he played 57 obviously not all that well but 57 snaps that's you're you're entering JD Bertrand Maris leou territory there what does that leave for Jaylen Sneed that was my preseason worry oh what does that lead for Jaylen Sneed Al golden still finds a way to get Jaylen Sneed on the field for 30 was it 31 30 30 something 31 that that's that's amazing if if your Jaylen sne a guy who last year I think he had some games in the single digits Jack I mean I I should pull this up but I was it was that the case or or was it more yeah was mean for like a dozen yeah they they had talked preseason about using him in this kind of versatile role like 20 to 30 steps a game but they they just figured they didn't think he was ready they they really didn't think he was he could do that at that point he didn't he wasn't playing fast enough to do that and man not only Ste by the way but like Bowen had a great game uh Kingston had a really good game Kaiser obviously had a had a good game Osberry I was super impressed with Osberry yeah Osberry had a Osberry had that pressure on the first drive he had a tackle for loss or maybe no gain in in the fourth quarter the first play after the touchdown like Albury had a fantastic game in his limited reps like one of my big takeaways from this week like all the fiveback rotation stuff that they talked about that is all true they they have five starting linebackers they're going to play five starting linebackers it's impressive and you know what reminds me or when I look at Osberry and Sneed I look at them kind of similarly in the sense that you're like are you sure that's a Notre Dame linebacker and then it doesn't matter when they're out there because they're playing fast enough like you said to where if if you lose 10 to 20 pounds who cares if you're getting there first and you're disruptive and and making plays and you mentioned the the uh t-shirt play I guess we'll just infamously call it he did enough to to slow busy down and then I think it was Kingston Ville yuasa who eventually cleaned it up right at the line of scrimmage right like that that's all you can ask that's a Jet Sweep that's probably going for 1520 maybe busy is still running type of yards against some other teams not Notre Dame because Sneed was there before busy could do anything about it and he owes him a t-shirt but I think that's a fair tradeoff that jayen sne would make if you're gonna make mistakes make him fast that that's something that this coaching staff preaches a lot and and that's what we saw out of Sneed out of the other backers out of Schuler out of Christian Gray I they like they they they are playing really fast right now and it is really encouraging to see for this defense and the last point that I'll make on this and in the show I did something on Kirk herb street today as I was listening to him on the Pat McAfee show and he was pumping up Marcus Freeman that was the the gist of the conversation but there was one thing that he said Jack that kind of struck me and I'll actually um just kind of read this off because I think it was such a a powerful quote and this is exactly what Notre Dame fans want to hear it's um you know when a team comes on the field you're and he's talking to Pat McAfee he says you're big on that Pat they're big Notre Dame through recruiting through the portal they look so much different than what they were a few years ago they used to always have big linemen big tight ends Big D linemen big linebackers man their skill and I would put Jaylen sne in the skill conversation on the defensive side of the ball looks so different they're long they're bouncing that's Jaylen sne athletic guys that's jayen sne to a te that's Marcus Freeman's recruiting Crown Jewel of a of the 2022 class I believe it was a few years ago yeah and and and now he's arriving and Notre Dame's a much better and different football team because of it and and again like I I I was kind of banging this Dr I I this this I I I will admit I was wrong about quicker than than like any dumb game pick I which is like I thought that Sneed wouldn't really be used like they were talking about because like because he is he he doesn't necessarily fit the base defense but exactly Al golden found a way to use his talent when he became ready ready for them to utilize him as much as they are and it's making their defense better that should be the last thing that I say on this show so I I will say all of these things first like this video subscribe to this channel come back next week uh Wednesday night we'll do another another hey hor but we got so many videos between now and then the last thing that I'm going to say and it goes to your last Point Jack thank God for Al golden thank God for Al golden absolutely